Years of Terror: Before Harry Potter
by Sky3
Summary: From a Hogwarts student's point of view; Story set before Harry Potter, when Lord Voldemort was still gaining power: please R
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Harry Potter, it belongs to the original wizard J. K. Rowling.  
  
Author's Note: This story may sometimes contradict what has been previously revealed in the original Harry Potter books. I am already aware of this, so please no flames, at least not on that subject. Thank you.  
  
Chapter One  
  
Ariana Skye excitedly opened the letter she had just received. Her parents sat on either side, just as excited as she was, but trying not to show it. Her long brown hair got in the way and she quickly brushed it back, pulling the stiff yellow parchment from inside the letter with her name written on it in emerald green ink. Her hands trembled as she unfolded it and hastily read through it.  
  
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY  
  
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)  
  
Dear Ms. Skye,  
  
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.  
  
Yours sincerely,  
  
Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress  
  
"I got in! Mom, Dad, I got in!" Her parents laughed and hugged her. Both of them had gone to Hogwarts and had hoped their daughter would as well. There had been precious little to look forward to the past year. So far, they had not been directly affected, but word was out the Lord Voldemort was gaining more and more power every day, and more and more followers as well. And not all of them voluntary.  
  
"We'll have to go down to Diagon Alley to get your things next week. We're so happy for you, dear," said her mother. "Why don't you go to bed now."  
  
Ariana practically skipped up to her room in the small loft upstairs, almost hidden by a trap door in the ceiling. Her cat, Alanna, a brown and grey tabby with violet eyes, trailed behind her.  
  
*******  
  
Ariana woke with a start several hours later. She sat up quickly and looked around, wondering what had startled her. She listened intently and then heard it again: a quiet, scraping sound coming from downstairs. What was it? Alanna was awake too and staring out the window, fur standing up and back arched, an eerie hiss rising in her throat.  
  
Ariana got out of bed quietly and went to the door, but before she could reach it a sound like an explosion rocked the house and sent her flying into the back wall, along with her bed, dresser, and trunk. She grabbed Alanna before she hit the back wall and bit down a scream. She heard heavy footsteps across the ruined front of the house and suddenly her parents, yelling something she could not hear. Then she heard a high cruel laugh and a voice that seemed to be magnified a hundred times and seething with evil. She screamed involuntarily, but the sound was completely lost in the screams of her parents. The house shook and teetered on its ruined foundation and threatened to collapse. Tears were running down Ariana's face and pure terror gripped her heart as she gripped Alanna, who was struggling to get free, still hissing and spitting madly.  
  
The foundation gave way and the second story crumpled over, taking Ariana with it, and nothing could be heard but screeching metal, falling bricks and the snapping of wooden posts. Ariana screamed again and rolled, trying to shelter her head and back. Alanna was torn away from her, and several boards ripped from out of the walls and converged, stopping only an inch from her face, plaster and rubble raining down from the ceiling and shingles falling as steadily as rain.  
  
Then it was over, and all she could hear were the laughs of some assorted people on the front lawn. She heard the heavy footsteps exit what was no longer a house, and from a small crack in the boards, she saw a blast of green light that flew up into the sky, etching the Dark Mark over what had formerly been the home of the Skye family. Then everything was silent, apart from the sobbing of a young girl.  
  
Author's Note: I know this is short, but I promise the next one will be longer. PLEASE review and tell me what you think! Constructive criticism IS appreciated. Thank you! 


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: Sad to say, I still do not own Harry Potter. Happy to say, J. K. Rowling still does. It's a paradox, isn't it?  
  
Chapter Two  
  
After a few minutes when she could be sure they had left, Ariana tried moving around a little to see if she could get the boards off her. She pushed experimentally on one, but as soon as she did, everything shifted and creaked, moving a little closer to her face, and she immediately stopped.  
  
Alanna?" she called softly, trying very hard to stop crying. "Alanna, are you there?" But there was no answer or movement that she could tell from the place where Alanna had disappeared. "Mom? Dad?" Also no answer.  
  
Suddenly the silence was broken by several things at once, startling her. She heard several small pops as about fifteen wizards and witches Apparated on her front lawn or the street. At first there was silence, and nobody moved. Then they all started talking at once, but the words mixed together and Ariana couldn't understand anything they were saying. Then she heard footsteps enter the house and begin searching for the Skyes, already knowing what they would find, but looking anyway. Ariana tried to call out to them, but found that her voice wouldn't work properly.  
  
One of the wizards searching the house must have leaned against a wall or moved something out of the way, because the house began to shift, groaning terribly. One of the wizards shouted something, and the searchers retreated until the house was steady, then moved back in, being extra careful now about touching anything. Ariana gathered herself and found her voice.  
  
"Hello?" she called, her voice trembling. Everyone stopped dead in their tracks. "Hello?" she called again, a slight note of panic in her voice now, afraid that no one could hear her. She heard several footsteps run over in her direction and several whispers out on the front lawn.  
  
"Hello!" said a man's voice. "We hear you, keep talking. Where are you?"  
  
"I don't know!" said Ariana, starting to cry again. "I don't know, I can't see and I can't get out!"  
  
"Calm down, it's okay, we're going to get you out," said the man in what was a very firm voice, and Ariana felt a little calmer and stopped crying.  
  
"Who is she, Grogan?" she heard another voice say, farther away than the first one.  
  
"Must be the Skye's daughter. I think she's under that pile of boards there."  
  
"Those? Nothing could--"  
  
"We'll have to-"  
  
Ariana waited, feeling calmer and saying nothing, until they finally reached a conclusion and she heard Grogan say, "Arbos decedo!" and the boards and shingles covering her were lifted into the air and she could see with sudden clarity the Dark Mark overshadowing her house, glaring down at her. Grogan helped her out of the ruined house and down to the front lawn. She saw a blur of faces; no one she recognized. Everyone around her was talking excitedly, but she interrupted them.  
  
"Where are my parents?"  
  
Everyone stopped talking and looked down at her as though seeing her for the first time. Finally Grogan cleared his throat and stepped forward to Ariana, bending down to eye level (he was quite tall). The look in his eyes told her all she needed to know, and tears filled her eyes again, and she looked down.  
  
"Ariana," he said gently, but she turned away, not wanting to hear it. And then all the event of the previous hour caught up to her, and she was suddenly completely exhausted, and everything around her fell into darkness.  
  
*******  
  
Ariana awoke slowly in what looked like some sort of hospital, but not quite. There were quite a few people in the room, off to one side, talking. She caught a few words and phrases as they talked, and it was this that brought her back to the reality of what had happened.  
  
"The Skyes..."  
  
"Yes...Lara and Christopher...just last night..."  
  
"...took the Ministry completely by surprise..."  
  
"...daughter Ariana, only eleven years..."  
  
"...You-Know-Who..."  
  
"Heard that Lara and Christopher..."  
  
"...must not have known she was there..."  
  
"...a miracle she..."  
  
Ariana sat up, quite suddenly in her bed. She found she had pajamas of some sort on, and was in a small room, not unlike a hospital room, but with jars of things like Glottworth Hair Regrowing Potion, or Asphincte All- Purpose Medical Curse Reversal Powder.  
  
Noticing she was awake and sitting up, the persons off to the side stopped talking. One of them she recognized as Grogan, the one who had helped her last night. It was him now who stepped forward, but before he said anything, a woman who looked as much like a nurse as anyone Ariana had seen walked in briskly and, noticing she was awake, proceeded to shoo everyone out of the room except Grogan. After this, she gave Ariana a spoonful of something that made her gag for a few minutes with a feeling of ice being stuck in her throat, and then ordered her to rest and left the room, casting a slightly glaring eye at Grogan as she left, as if wishing she could order him to leave as well.  
  
Grogan, who had been quietly observing the whole thing, chuckled to himself before sitting down in a chair beside her bed and speaking.  
  
"I assume you have quite a few questions for me."  
  
Ariana nodded, but didn't know where to begin. Finally, she settled on, "Where am I?"  
  
"You are in the hospital wing of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he said. "You were brought here last night after you fainted. I expect you'll remain here until you are well, and after that we'll make other arrangements."  
  
"What other arrangements?" she asked, feeling nervous. He smiled.  
  
"That is yet to be decided. However, rest assured that whatever it is will be done in your best interests and with your consent." She paused, not wanting to ask her next question, but knowing she had to.  
  
"Where are my parents now? What happened to them?"  
  
Grogan bowed his head. "Lara and Christopher Skye were buried this morning. May they rest in peace."  
  
Tears swelled in Ariana's eyes, but she did not cry. Grogan saw this and got up quietly. "I'll leave you to rest now, and think." He left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. About fifteen minutes later the nurse came in to give Ariana a second dose of that horrible medicine. "Well, he's finally gone then," she said, glaring at the door. "I swear that if he wasn't the Minister of Magic I would have..."  
  
Ariana coughed from a combination of the dreadful medicine and complete surprise. "What?" she asked, when she had stopped coughing. "Minister of-"  
  
"Why yes!" said the nurse said in astonishment. "Didn't you know that? That was Grogan Stump, Minister of Magic. My goodness, don't they teach children anything?" She collected the spoon and stood up, replacing the cap on the bottle.  
  
"Now REST, young lady, or else I'll be forced to give you a sleeping potion." Ariana nodded and, looking satisfied, the nurse exited the room, leaving Ariana thoughtfully pondering the day's events as she drifted off to sleep.  
  
Author's Note: In case you were wondering, yes, Grogan Stump was the Minister of Magic before Fudge, you can read it in the books. Please PLEASE review and tell me what you think! I'll try to write another chapter within the next week or two. Thanks for reading! (and please review!) 


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